Facebook plans to spend $1 billion on original video content

Facebook wants to take on Netflix and Amazon Prime to become a major player in the original video market and, according to the Wall Street Journal, it's willing to spend up to $1 billion to get there.

This is still relatively small compared to the main two players (Netflix is spending $6 billion this year and Amazon Prime $4.5 billion) but it's just an initial spend to get the project off the ground. After that, Facebook plans to spend nothing for video projects, instead giving creators as much as a 45% share of ad revenue.

"We’re funding these shows directly now, but over time we want to help lots of creators make videos funded through revenue sharing products like Ad Break," said Facebook’s VP of media partnerships, Nick Grudin, while speaking to The Verge. "You discover videos through your friends," added Product management leader Daniel Danker. "You often find yourself discussing videos with friends. Video has this amazing power to bring people together and build community."

It's unclear when Facebook plans to launch the new original content, but stay tuned for details.